Failte! Welcome!! Hallelujah!!!
We glorify the Lord for the privilege of the 2023 edition of the Selah Series, amen. On behalf of everyone in the Selah Series team, I bid you welcome and thank you most passionately for your interest in the Series. We are delighted to inform you that our registration with Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission was concluded earlier in the year under the name - The Selah Support Foundation. In addition, our website has been redone and upgraded to be more user-friendly - www.selahsupportfoundation.com. Please see the pages and share your thoughts on what we can do better.
In case you are new to Selah Series, by God's grace we will post daily throughout the month of August. To make it a great ride, we implore you to kindly contribute, raise questions, critique and pray along. If you can, please use the website for all discourses. It is more private (allows anonymous comments), secure and centralised. But if you are more comfortable with WhatsApp, Facebook or Instagram or Twitter - we are there with you all the way. Shalom.
Now, let’s dive in...
Until life got much busier recently, I used to love shopping so much. I remember entering a big store in Dublin a few years ago, and I told my friend that I was there to pluck the shop’s best bargains. I did. Including buying a €250 item at €25. That’s clearance at its peak. However, I don’t fall for percentage off in shopping; it’s a “clickbait” or a “mind game” from the retailers. Instead, I’m curious about how much is leaving my family’s purse versus the benefit of the transaction to us. When the benefit matches or outweighs the cost, especially when on clearance - there lies a good deal.
Earlier in the 2022 edition of the Series, we discussed the Eleazer’s ministry. A few months after the Series, I discussed a suitor with a dear friend. She has a lot of good stuffs on her list that the suitor should tick off. But I noted that the most essential things were less emphasised. Around the same time, another friend noted that with the growing scarcity of brave Christian elite bachelors of proven character, such a suitor should be received on the red carpet. There comes the clickbait and cost vs benefit analysis.
As much as I am passionate about many friends around us getting their marital testimonies activated, it is equally important to be wary of click baits - not all that glitters is gold. Similarly, the fact that your local Church is blessed with virtuous and beautiful spinsters should not make a brother propose without spiritual insight - it is not clearance sales. It is your destiny at stake. “Eyi je eyi o je” (lottery/games) has landed many people in “eyi o je” (losses). What is the Lord asking you to do? What is the Lord saying? For a minute, leave your pastors, mentors, senior friends in the faith, and immediate family of the picture - get into the ring with God and take heed.
Be intentional about cost-benefit analysis. In Christian courtship, you cannot cohabit to do a fitness test. Please, you read that correctly - fornication is still a sin. Its end-time popularity hasn’t changed God’s sure standard about sexual purity. So, how do you do a cost-benefit analysis? Prayer, prayer, prayer. The insight we gain from the place of prayer is unquantifiable. In addition, ask questions from well-meaning people who have known this person for some time. Also, before you begin to breed butterflies in your love tummy, do your best to relate with this person - know them, question them and catch a glimpse of the costs and the benefits. Cost means you must part ways with something - what will that be?
Tolerance is one of the essential keys to a successful marriage. Tolerance doesn’t always come easy. It may involve sacrifices. But should you sacrifice your health, joy, faith, calling, and background family? And regarding benefits, the question is straightforward - how will this union aid my destiny, and what do I add to this person’s destiny? Don’t forget the second part - many usually do; what treasures do you bring to the table?
©️ SELAH SERIES 2023
